Unlikely Connections
by Jurojin
Summary: What if Michelle was never involved with CTU? What if she had a completely different life and then along comes an agent who turns her life upside down?
1. Chapter 1

_Yep. Started another story._

_Most prolly aren't familiar with the show Scarecrow and Mrs. King from the 80s but I loved it growing up. It's prolly my first ship so of course I decided to put Tony and Michelle into that world. You don't have to know much about the show to read this one. This will be my first foray into nothing but cute. I won't lie, we'll have angst but nothing like I usually write. And it's all non-supernatural, for once. It's cute and silly and I think it'll be fun to write._

_So yeah, here you go._

_Unlikely Connections_  
><em>TonyMichelle_  
><em>PG - NC-17<em>

* * *

><p>"Mom! Where's my project? Grandma is gonna leave without me!."<p>

Michelle Dessler managed to make an impressive twirl around her two sons. Gabe was frantically looking for his science project and Jon wasn't helping by egging his brother on.

"Did you check the trash? Cause really, that's where it belongs."

"Jon! Stop teasing your brother." Michelle turned to her youngest son. "Sweetheart, check the den. I think I had to move it when grandma brought home her newest 'project.'"

Gabe turned to go but not before throwing his older brother a dirty look. Jon took a bite of his apple, the look not phasing him in the least. He wasn't expecting his mother to snatch the fruit from his hand though. She'd moved close to his face and he went a little ashen.

"Why do you do that? You know he's had a hard time since...since your dad left. It doesn't help him and it doesn't help me. So enough with the attitude, alright? I'm doing the best I can."

Jon dropped his eyes, properly chastised. "I'm sorry, mom."

Michelle pulled him into a hug and threw the apple back at him, Jon catching it midair with a smile on his face. "I know. But it's been a year now since the divorce. We've all had to make changes. Time to grow up, baby."

"Jon! Gabe! Car! Now!"

Michelle could only smile at how her mother rounded up her boys like cattle. Karen Dessler shuffled quickly into the kitchen pushing Jon towards the front door. "Where's the other one? We're gonna be late as it is. I'm still stopping for coffee. You know I can't function without coffee."

"Yes, mother. I know exactly."

"You need to hurry it up yourself if you're gonna get Rick to the train station. You know how the traffic in D.C. is around this time. Especially around the train."

Michelle looked at her watch and swore under he breath. "You're right. I'm out." She threw on a coat and yelled over her shoulder as she made her way out to her car. "Love you guys, see you later!"

* * *

><p>Tony risked a glance back over his shoulder and swore. They were getting closer.<p>

He turned back around and skimmed the numbers on the cars of the train, mentally dismissing the ones he wasn't looking for.

_241...241...come on...come on..._

He was panting as he tried to move faster through the crowd. He had no idea why Mason would schedule a drop at this time of day knowing it would be packed with people. Tony figured he must have wanted to use them as cover. Unfortunately, right now they were just getting in his way.

He shoved through a particularly large group and noticed his pursuers through the break between two train cars. Everyone stopped to stare for a split second, then Tony shot forward looking frantically at everyone he passed.

He passed one person after another, something just not feeling right till his eyes landed on an attractive curly haired brunette. He pushed toward her and pulled the package a little closer to his body.

* * *

><p>Michelle gave Rick one last wave before turning to head back to the parking garage. She'd only been dating him a few months but it didn't take her long to figure out he just wasn't "the one." Honestly, he was dull as a stick. Her mother and the boys liked him so she'd continued to see him.<p>

Right now it was basically a necessity bred from loneliness. She didn't regret her divorce, it had been exactly what she needed to do. But she hadn't been alone in a long time.

Turning around with her head in the clouds she never saw him coming. She was suddenly swept up in the arms of some strange man. He roughly turned her around and started walking her in the opposite direction of her car.

"Walk with me." It came out as a demand and he kept looking over their shoulders.

"Excuse me? Who the hell are you?" She tried to pull away from him but his grip on her arm and waist just tightened.

"Please, I just need you to walk with me."

"I most certainly will not." She jerked quickly and was able to turn around in his arms and push her way back towards where they came from. She didn't get very far when he'd grabbed her again, this time just spinning her in place and pulling her closer to him. He stared directly in her eyes and for some reason she just couldn't look away.

"I'm in trouble. Please. I need you to take this." He handed her a small brown wrapped package, shoving it into her midsection when she didn't immediately take it.

"Who are you?" Michelle thought to herself it shouldn't matter who he is. Some strange man was asking her to take a strange package and she was actually considering it. A small voice in the back of her head said it might have something to do with how good looking he was.

"There's no time for me to tell ya all that. Please just take this onto the train and give it to the guy wearing the blue blazer."

"No, I just can't-"

"I'm begging you. It's life or death. Please, just do it." This time he wasn't demanding he was pleading and she didn't know why but his eyes...something about them made her trust him.

"Ok...man in the blue blazer." She had barely wrapped her fingers around the package before he started to move away from her.

"Thank you."

The look he gave her or the way he said it, she wasn't sure, but a chill went down her spine. He took off back into the crowd. She stood and watched his retreating back then slowly made her way to the first open train car. Right before she made it to the last step up she looked in his direction again only to see two men tackle him to the ground and pull him behind the last train car.

Michelle gasped and stared at the last place she'd seen him before she turned to enter the train car.

_What the hell have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

><p>Tony limped up to the door of International Federal Film. He held onto his side as he stepped into the entrance way and stopped at the front desk. Mrs. Patterson looked back at him and just raised an eyebrow. They looked at each other and Tony took in a painful breath.<p>

"The code is ice storm."

Mrs. Patterson gave him the only thing he'd ever seen remotely resemble a smile and pulled her hand from under the desk, pressing a button next to her phone. Had he given the wrong code, she'd make sure they were cleaning him off the walls.

Tony limped over to a panel in the wall that opened to show what looked like a closet. Stepping inside he pressed the button for the bullpen and pushed his way between the rack of clothes. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator into the hall he heard her.

"Well look what the cat dragged in."

"Can it, Nina. You have no idea what I've been through this morning." He shuffled past her and her smug smile, his eyes focused on Mason's office at the top of the stairs in the middle of the floor.

"If I didn't know any better, Scarecrow, I'd say this "easy little drop" was anything but." He just ignored her but she kept following him. "Seriously, Tony. Are you ok? You look like shit."

Tony grit his teeth as he climbed the stairs but stopped midway to turn and look at her. "Thanks. That really helps." He turned back around and pushed his way into Mason's office.

"And just where the hell have you been? Fitz called here over an hour ago looking for you."

Tony had been mid squat when he shot back up, just a little too fast for his ribs and he grit his teeth again before he growled. "What? Why's he lookin' for me?"

"Why wouldn't he look for you? You never made the drop!"

"I did. I got to the train station exactly like we planned. What we didn't plan on was Anderson's men planning on the same thing. They saw me before I had time to duck into somewhere so I had to improvise."

"Improvise?" Mason narrowed his eyes at his top agent and knew he wasn't going to like the answer to his question. "And just what does 'improvise' mean, Scarecrow?"

Tony swallowed and cut his eyes around Mason's office as he spoke. "I gave the package to a woman and told her who to leave it with. They were simple instructions. I don't know what happened after that. Anderson's men jumped me. But if I hadn't given it to her, they'd have it now."

"So instead, we have some civilian out there holding onto one of the most valuable pieces of national intelligence in the world?" Tony just smirked back at Mason. "I fail to see how this is any better, Almeida! And wipe that stupid grin off your face."

"Look, I'll get it back. She either dumped it in the trash somewhere at the station or it's still on her. Either way, I'll find it."

"You'd better. This isn't just your ass, Tony. Mine's in a sling with you if you screw this up."

Tony turned to leave. "Hey, when have I ever let ya down?"

Mason's face turned red and Tony could still hear him at the bottom of the stairs when he finally yelled. "And go to the infirmary! You look like shit!"

* * *

><p>Michelle was on her second cup of coffee and her third hour of either pacing or just sitting and staring at the package. There was nothing on the outside to give her any indication of what was in it or where it was supposed to go.<p>

She'd boarded the train, just like the man had asked and looked for the man in the blue blazer. The problem was every man on the car had on a blue blazer. Apparently there was a conference in town. She scanned the car but no one seemed to be interested in a housewife from Arlington holding a plain brown package. Once the train had made its next stop she'd gotten off and went right back to the station with her car.

The boys were at school and her mother was out doing whatever it was she did during the day. It was just her and this package. Michelle took a sip of her coffee, never taking her eyes off the package. Her thoughts went back to the man who'd given it to her. She blushed a bit and smiled to herself. He was definitely good looking but then she remembered seeing him being mugged.

"He'd said it was life or death." She turned the package around on the table slowly, just thinking out loud. "What could you possibly be?"

Michelle sighed and turned to put her coffee cup in the sink when suddenly she was staring back at those same brown eyes from the station. "Hey!"

Startled, she dropped her cup and it shattered all over her kitchen floor. She bent to pick up the pieces then stood back up looking through her blinds, then bent back, the stood up. Really she wasn't sure what she should do. There he was again, the same strange man from the station only now he was smiling at her through her kitchen window.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Is it ok if I come in?"

Michelle was frantically picking up pieces of her cup from the floor. "What? No! I don't know who you are!"

"Oh come on, I know you recognize me. I didn't mean to startle you and I'm not here to hurt you."

"Isn't that what they all say and then the next thing you know-"

"If I was here for that, I'd have done it already."

Michelle just stood up and walked to her back door where he'd moved, staring at him through the glass. "You know that's not very convincing either."

Tony gave an irritated sigh and tried to control his temper. "Miss, please. May I please come in? You know why I'm here."

Michelle studied him again like she did that day and again, something about his eyes made her go against her better judgement. "Fine, you can come in, but stay on that side of the kitchen and I want to see your hands."

Tony did as she requested and slipped into her kitchen, his hands held up in front of him. "Thank you. And really, I'm sorry. I honestly didn't mean to scare ya."

"It's fine." She tilted her head at him and finally asked what she'd been dying to know since he grabbed her. "Before we even get into why you're here, who the hell are you?"

Tony smiled at her and she blushed back at him. He slowly reached one hand toward her as he spoke. "I'm Tony Almeida." She took his hand, a little dazed and asked another question. "Mr. Almeida...how the hell did you know where to find me."

This time his smile was cocky and she couldn't decide if it was cute or just super annoying.

"It's what I do, Mrs...?"

"Dessler. Michelle Dessler." She paused. "It's what you do?"

"I'm a spy."


	2. Chapter 2

_Unlikely Connections_  
><em>TonyMichelle_  
><em>PG - NC-17<em>  
><em>Summary: What if Michelle was never involved with CTU? What if she had a completely different life and then along comes an agent who turns her life upside down?<em>

* * *

><p>Michelle's eyes widened when they stepped out of what she thought at first had been a closet. Well, it was a closet but it was also an elevator. She glanced to her side and for the millionth time that morning wondered just what the hell was going on. Tony didn't look at her as they walked ahead and he didn't seem a bit phased that they'd just rode down an elevator <em>that was a closet<em>.

She pulled the package closer to her side. Last week she'd been a normal housewife and mother just visiting the train station. Now...she didn't even know where they were. Agent Almeida had explained as much as he could without "giving too much information." He said he'd been as forthcoming as he could be. Yeah well, it wasn't enough for Michelle. So, she had picked up her leverage from her kitchen counter and calmly told him he wasn't getting anything from her until she knew exactly what the hell was going on.

Now she kind of wished she'd just shoved the package at him and pushed him out of her door.

That's not what happened though. Forever stubborn, Michelle had stood her ground even when Agent Almeida had gotten, well all agent-y on her. It was a stalemate so he'd done the only thing he thought would convince her he wasn't a threat; he brought her to CTU.

Tony lead her through security, smirking while watching her get the once over. At least this time she wasn't in her night clothes. He had to admit, even with thugs chasing him he couldn't help but notice she'd apparently been in a hurry that morning since she hadn't dressed. Oh yes, he'd noticed. He'd noticed a few things about Ms. Dessler.

Michelle followed Tony down a long hall after getting her guest pass from the security station. The guard seemed to be surprised Tony was even asking for one. Once they turned the corner she realized why. If she thought the room where the closet, er, elevator was impressive it was nothing compared to where they were now.

"Welcome to the bullpen. This is the center of the facility and where I report to." He turned and pointed to a glass office raised above everything else in the middle of the room. "That...would be my boss. You asked for proof, well here it is, Ms. Dessler."

Michelle just shook her head. She didn't actually think he'd show her anything like _this_. Honestly she thought the whole thing was a ridiculous pick up trick. Ridiculous, but unique. She would have given him that. No, he definitely wasn't trying to just get a date.

As she took everything in, a woman with short, dark hair came up to them and approached Tony as she spoke. "Scarecrow, Mason wants to know if you've gotten-dear Lord you've brought her with you." The women sized each other up. The other agent was dressed similar to Tony; typical clothes you'd see on anyone. They just looked a hell of a lot more expensive than what Michelle could ever afford. The female agent gave her a smug look but her tone was pleasant. "I'm Agent Nina Myers. You must be Ms. Dessler." Michelle took the hand she offered. "Yes, uh, yes...that's me." Still a little flustered she dropped Nina's hand and kept looking around.

Nina couldn't help the look she gave Tony. Oh she'd definitely tease him about this later. Bringing a housewife into CTU. He must really be desperate for a date if he'd had to resort to this. She hadn't even said anything before Tony was already warning her. "Stop. Don't even start."

"What? I didn't even say anything."

"No, but you were going to." Nina rolled her eyes at him and smiled at them both.

"Mason wants you in his office, now." She looked at Michelle. "He's gonna love this." With that the female agent walked away and Michelle watched her go back to work.

Tony looked down at Michelle and smiled at the look of wonder on her face. It'd been years since he'd been affected by the place. Too much had happened in the years he'd worked for CTU for him to feel anything close to what Michelle was experiencing. He hated to break the spell she was under but if he made Mason wait any longer his ass would be in a sling.

Michelle felt Tony gently take her by the arm and lead her toward the stairs that went up to the glass office in the middle. "You said this was your boss's office?" She took the stairs ahead of him, package still tucked closely.

"Yeah. George Mason, deputy director." Tony tried to keep his eyes on neutral territory but he couldn't deny he might have snuck a few glances at her figure going up the stairs. Her assets were having more of an effect than he realized since he nearly bumped into the back of her when she stopped near the top of the stairs.

Michelle was nervous. There was no other way to describe it. He'd been telling the truth. She really hadn't thought any further than laughing in his face when he couldn't produce what she'd asked for. But this... She quickly turned to Tony, looking down at him. "What the other agent said...I hope I didn't get you into some kind of trouble."

They stared at each other for just a second but it was a meaningful second.

"Nah. Don't worry about it. Mason is more bark than bite." He smiled up at her and accepting his words she smiled back. "But, let's get in there before we _do _get bitten." He nudged her forward and she took a deep breath as she pushed against the large glass door.

Mason started yelling before he'd even turned all the way around. "Where in the hell have you-" His tirade stopped as soon as he noticed Michelle.

Tony took the opening. "George, meet Ms. Dessler. And as you can see, she's brought something for us." He gestured toward the package but Mason just kept staring at Michelle.

Mason looked around like he thought he had to be the only person seeing this. "Almeida...you brought her _here_?!"

Before Tony got a chance to answer, Michelle cut him off. "Why does everyone keep saying that? I mean, you're secret agents. I get that. But honestly, you ride to work in a closet. I can't possibly be that intimidating."

Tony tried. He really did. But he couldn't help the snort that came out. Apparently Ms. Dessler had a bit of fire in her. Glancing at her as he composed himself again, he thought that could either be a good or bad thing.

Mason glared at Tony but when he turned his eyes to Michelle they were kind. "Ms. Dessler, I'm sorry for having you involved in this. I thought I was sending my best agent on an assignment but obviously it was too much for Scarecrow to handle." He ended by glaring at Tony again. Almeida just rolled his eyes. George was such a drama queen sometimes. Mason extended his hand offering her a seat and she took it. Tony leaned against one of the glass walls of the office, his boss's words not affecting him at all.

"There's no need to apologize, sir. I mean, it's not Agent Almeida's fault I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

George smiled at her. "Honestly, Ms. Dessler I think you might have been at the right place at the right time. If it wasn't for you that" he nodded at the package "would be in the hands of some not so nice people." Tony couldn't believe what he was seeing. Mason smiled?

"Still, I'm very sorry for having worried anyone or gotten Agent Almeida in trouble. I just didn't know what to do with it when I couldn't find the man he'd asked me to give it to."

"Trust me, Almeida is _always _in trouble." He slowly made his way around the desk and carefully reached toward the package. "May I?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry." She sheepishly handed it over to him. She couldn't help noticing the look of relief on his face once it was safely sitting on his desk.

"Thank you, Ms. Dessler. You've done a great service to your country without even knowing it."

Michelle smiled at him. "Too bad it doesn't pay well." She laughed and looked between the two men. A light bulb seemed to go on over Mason's head at the same time Tony started to look worried.

"So, you're unemployed then?" George went back to his seat and pulled out a file, flipping it open. Michelle blushed. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean for it to sound like I was asking-"

"No, no. No problem. Actually I think I could help you. It's the least we could do for what you've done for us." He never looked up from the file but pulled another sheet over and quickly scribbled something on it. "Scarecrow will escort you to HR. Just tell them I sent you and hand them this." He offered the paper to her and she gingerly took it.

"I don't think I'm really the agent type, sir." Tony snorted again and turned to look out the glass at the people below. Michelle was a little hurt by his demeanor. She had no idea why.

"Oh it's nothing like that, Ms. Dessler. We have a number of places open that I think you'll fit after what I've seen so far. Just let them know any skills you have and we'll find something for you." Michelle could tell by his tone the conversation was over.

A little dazed she stood to take her leave, Tony already opening the door for her. "Thank you sir."

"Thank _you_, Ms. Dessler." He held it in long enough for her to make her way down the stairs but as soon as she was out of eyesight he gave Tony's glare an evil grin.


	3. Chapter 3

_Unlikely Connections_  
><em>TonyMichelle_  
><em>PG - NC-17<em>  
><em>Summary: What if Michelle was never involved with CTU? What if she had a completely different life and then along comes an agent who turns her life upside down?<em>

* * *

><p>Michelle stopped typing once she'd seen him enter her area of the bullpen. He was talking to another agent. At least she assumed he was another agent. It was a bit hard to tell at times. But, this guy was dressed similar to Tony and just had that way of handling himself. That was really how she was able to tell the difference between the grunts, an affectionate word used for people who did her work and the field agents. She'd been called a nerd, a geek but never a grunt. At first she'd been offended but Nina had laughed at her expression and explained the IT department came up with it themselves. Now she could see why. It'd only been three months but it was clear that the majority of the work was done in the bullpen. Without the IT work, the agents were flying blind. Michelle smiled a bit to herself at that. It definitely gave her a sense of pride to finally be doing something that helped others.<p>

She focused back on Tony and his companion, wondering what they were talking about. It seemed serious from the look on their faces. Michelle just had a hard time taking anything serious from the agent Tony was speaking too. She'd finally decided it was the hair.

_How do you take someone seriously as an agent who can't even control his hair?_

Still, the black spikes were waving this way and that as he animatedly spoke with Tony. This was something she'd started doing more and more of; Agent Almeida watching. She couldn't deny she was a little hurt that he'd just dumped her at HR and hadn't really said a word to her since. They passed each other and she'd say hello, he'd respond but he always had this look on his face. She couldn't place what it was, but it made her feel uncomfortable. He wouldn't stop by and speak to her but she'd caught him staring almost as often as she herself had been.

"Dessler! You get that background check done?"

Michelle started and looked back at her monitor. "I got it right here, Agent Bauer." She saved the file quickly and pulled the USB drive out of the computer, handing it to him as soon as he'd made his way to her side. She smiled up at him as he took it, a small smile formed on his face. She liked Agent Bauer. He was married with a daughter so they had a bit in common. Every now and then he'd sit in the break room and eat with her. He seemed to be a bit of a loner. She didn't see many agents stay in for lunch and she definitely didn't see any of them eating with anyone else but other agents. That didn't seem to bother Jack Bauer.

"Thanks. I'll need as much information as I can get for this one." He pocketed the drive and looked back up at her. He smirked. "Ok, what is it Michelle? I know that look. You're snooping."

Michelle feigned shock. "I most certainly am not." Jack just raised an eyebrow at her and she caved. She knew she wasn't a very good liar. "Ok, ok fine. See Agent Almeida and spiky hair over there." She didn't look their way but just nudged her head in their general direction. Jack snorted at her description of Tony's friend. "That would be Agent Sheppard, Michelle. But, I think I like spiky hair." He looked contemplative for a moment. "I think I might use that."

Michelle kicked him in the shin. "Ow! Ok, yes I see them. So what?"

"Are you working on whatever it is they have? For the past few days they've been in and out of here constantly and so far, none of the IT people have been asked to run point."

Jack sighed and sat on the edge of her desk. "And let me guess, you wanna give it a try."

Michelle bit her lip but didn't say anything. She didn't have to. Jack could read it all over her face. "I do happen to know what they are working on and it's extremely dangerous. I don't think you should cut your teeth on this one." He hated seeing the look of disappointment on her face. "You're one of the best techs we have. Don't doubt that. But running point, you've seen how crazy it is."

"Jack, I can do it. I've watched Nina do it hundreds of times by now."

"Nina is a senior tech as well as a backup agent. She's been here for years, Michelle. It's not the same thing as watching."

"Please, just, if anyone says anything...just put in a good word for me, huh? Otherwise I'll never get to show I can do more than run profiles."

Jack reached out to squeeze her shoulder in support. "I'll see what I can do, ok?"

Michelle smiled back at him.

* * *

><p>"For the last time, John, no fucking way." Tony was getting irritated. He hated repeating himself and he'd had this fight with Sheppard for almost two days now.<p>

"Tony, you _know _this is the best way in. We need surprise on our side and this is it. Just take another look at what I'm suggesting. Hey, Tony!" John smacked his friend on the arm to bring his attention back to the schematics he held. "What's up with you man? You've been walking around here like a zombie for the past few months." Tony rubbed the back of his neck and took the plans from John to study them. As his head bent down, Sheppard glanced over his shoulder in the direction Almeida had been focused on. John smirked.

"Oh...I see."

Tony didn't bother looking up. "Ya see what?" He flipped the papers around and John noticed suddenly they seemed to be the most important thing in the world.

"I'm an agent too, Scarecrow. It's my job to notice things." Tony quickly glanced up but moved his eyes back down. "She's cute."

"I have no idea what're talkin' about." Almeida turned and placed the plans on the nearest desk. "Here" he pointed to a side gate of the facility they were working on infiltrating. "That's where we'll go in." He started to walk off when John tried to stop him. "You aren't gonna acknowledge the fact that I was _right _this time?"

Almeida just pushed past him, definitely irritated now. "Fuck you, Jinx."

Sheppard just smirked as he watched Tony storm off.

* * *

><p>The sound of the locker door slamming echoed off the walls. Eventually everything went quiet again except for the deep breathing of CTU's top agent. Scarecrow turned and leaned back against the lockers, the back of his head bumping into one of them harder than he'd intended. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, calming down. He saw Jack squeezing Ms. Dessler's shoulder and her smile swim in the back of his mind.<p>

Tony closed his eyes. He had no idea what kind of relationship they had. He could tell they were close but he didn't know _how _close. He hated to think Jack would cheat on his wife. He'd worked with Bauer for years now and Tony wouldn't have thought it in his character. But then there was Ms. Dessler...

Tony turned back to his locker and opened it. Removing his shirt he slightly smiled. He'd have to be blind to miss how beautiful she was and he couldn't keep his eyes off her. Apparently he wasn't as covert about it as he had originally thought.

"Oh!"

Almeida swung around at the sound and just stared back at Michelle. It seemed like forever but was only a split second, she raised her hand, quickly covering her eyes. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Mason said I'd find you in here. I wasn't, I didn't know you did that here."

"Did what?" Tony couldn't help but snort when she covered her eyes. He just had his shirt off. He noticed the file in her hand and walked slowly towards her, gently taking it from her.

"Well you know, undress." He flipped through the file before looking up and noticing she was still covering her eyes. He reached up and pulled her hand down. "Stop that."

She kept her eyes closed and he sighed. "Ms. Dessler, I was just changing my shirt. The room has glass walls."

Michelle opened her eyes slowly but nothing could have stopped her gaze from falling lower to his chest. She already knew she was attracted to him but this was the most of his skin she'd ever seen. And it was nice skin.

Tony didn't seem to notice the way she was looking at him, flipping back through the file. "Shit, I told Sheppard this was gonna be harder than we thought."

Michelle noticed scars here and there. Keepsakes of his life in the field. There was one particular round, bumpy spot about the size of a nickel on his left shoulder.

"You were shot?" Tony looked up at her tone. She sounded sad, concerned maybe. He stepped closer, closer than was professional and lifted her hand up to the old wound.

"Be glad you're in IT, Ms. Dessler. Getting shot at isn't exactly fun. And getting hit is damn sure no picnic."

She pulled her hand back quickly and held it against her chest. "You can call me Michelle, you know. I mean, you did pull me into all of this. I think the formalities are a bit much at this point." She smiled at him and Tony took a deep breath before turning his back on her.

"Thanks for this...Michelle."

He quickly walked around the corner of a bank of lockers as she spoke. "You're welcome."

She had no idea if he heard her. She was too fixated on the many scars crisscrossing his back.


	4. Chapter 4

_Unlikely Connections_  
><em>TonyMichelle_  
><em>PG - NC-17<em>  
><em>Summary: What if Michelle was never involved with CTU? What if she had a completely different life and then along comes an agent who turns her life upside down?<em>

* * *

><p>"So, what exactly does this IFF do? I know you told me they do some kind of documentaries but you keep really strange hours for just working on a computer." Michelle's mother kept tossing the salad, popping a piece of lettuce into her mouth here and there.<p>

"Oh, well...it's actually really boring, mother." This wasn't the first time Karen Dessler had been nosey. It was getting rather tiring, actually. "It's all stuff for the government so you know, whatever they happen to be researching at the time."

Michelle finished setting the table in the other room and joined her mother in the kitchen. She grabbed a few more glasses as she kept talking. "We had a really interesting one the other day on mold." She risked a glance at the older woman noticing her grimace, hoping that would kill any questions she'd had lined up.

"Mold?" Karen looked at her daughter like she was crazy.

"It's more interesting than you think. Did you know-"

"Michelle, we're about to eat."

"Well you asked!"

"Forget I mentioned it." Karen moved into the dining room, not noticing the small smile on her daughter's face. "Boys! Dinner!"

Michelle was just about to turn the corner out of the kitchen when she heard something tapping behind her. She looked over her shoulder and didn't notice anything at first, but then the bushes directly under the window shifted slightly. Setting the glasses down, she made her way quietly to the window and leaned over the sink to look over the edge. The glass kept her from moving very far but before she could try and scoot closer a face shot up out of the bushes.

"Oh my God!"

"Michelle? Are you ok?" Karen's footsteps could clearly be heard making their way from the dining room back into the kitchen. Composing herself quick, Michelle gave Tony an angry look and frantically waved at him to duck.

Tony couldn't tell what she was doing but she looked pissed. Eventually he caught on when he saw someone's shadow on the wall to the entry of the kitchen. Right as Karen turned the corner he dropped back down to the ground.

"What the hell? What's wrong?" Karen looked her daughter up and down, worried.

"It's nothing, mother. Really, the Johnson's dog just came out of the bushes and they hit the window and scared me." Michelle's heart was racing a mile a minute and her eyes were pleading that her lie, as lame as it was, was enough.

Karen went from worried to angry. "I told you we needed to call animal control the last time that damn dog got through the fence." She turned and headed back to the other room.

"You're right, mom. I'll do that first thing tomorrow." Michelle looked over her shoulder, only to see Tony motioning for her to join him outside. "Uh, mom I'm just gonna go make sure he isn't digging anything up."

Michelle could still hear her grumbling about a "damn dog" as she went through the door that lead to the patio.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Trust me, this wasn't my idea." Tony was brushing the dirt from her flower bed off his jeans.

"What wasn't your idea?"

"Mason wants you with us on our next op." She didn't say anything for a few seconds so Tony glanced up to see the shocked look on her face. He stood back up. "Like I said, not my idea."

Michelle finally broke from being surprised and squinted at him. "What's that supposed to mean? I guess you think I can't do it?" Her voice steadily rose as she got more upset.

"Whoa, whoa! I never said that." He threw his hands up in surrender. "You aren't running point, but he thinks it'd be good for ya to get some field experience."

"Wait...what? I'm going into the field?" Tony just smirked at how quickly she went from angry to worried. "But, but they never said anything about-"

"Just thank your good friend Jack for that." It came out sharper than he'd meant it and her look went back to angry. Tony looked away, not able to meet her eyes.

"I don't think I appreciate your tone. Yes, Jack is a good friend of mine. Not that it's any of your business." Michelle continued to stare at him but he refused to look at her.

"I really don't give a damn about you and Jack, ok? I'm just here to deliver Mason's orders. You're to report to Nina at nine a.m. tomorrow morning. She'll set you up with everything you need." He turned to leave but she stopped him.

"Agent Almeida." Tony kept his back to her so she wouldn't see the effect her cold tone had on him. Or the fact that she'd called him by his title. "Why didn't you just call? Why go through all this just to tell me to be at work at nine?"

Tony took a deep breath and finally turned around to look her in the eye. He made sure his voice was softer than before. "Ms. Dessler...Michelle..." he corrected himself when she raised an eyebrow at him. "This is my fault. You wouldn't even be involved in any of this if it wasn't for me. When Mason told me what his plans for you were, I just...I didn't think a phone call was good enough. Not when I've placed you in danger."

Michelle's eyes grew soft and she relaxed a bit, stepping closer to him. "I didn't have to take that package, Tony. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be."

She was standing so close to him; the closest since that day he'd grabbed her at the train station. Tony leaned down just a little, his lips coming close to her's but not touching. Just close enough for her to feel his words as well as hear them when he spoke softly.

"And why did you? What made you take the package from me that day?"

Her head felt fuzzy at how close he was but she stood her ground and stared directly into his eyes until she answered him. "Your eyes...there was something in your eyes that made me trust you. Just like I do now."

They stood close together, not saying anything and just when Tony seemed to sway forward they heard Karen from inside, "Michelle? Did you get rid of the dog?"

They both jumped but Michelle was the first to recover and smiled up at him. "I caught it and I'm letting it go right now."

Tony's eyes widened at her cheek but couldn't help but smile back at her. He ducked down again and watched as Michelle made her way back inside. He could hear her and her mother talking and moving into the other room. He inched low around the side of the house he'd come from, making his way back to his motorcycle he'd parked down the street.

Before he left her residence, he couldn't help but look into the dining room. The Dessler's sat around a rectangular table, chatting and laughing. It was a scene he'd never been familiar with and with one last look at Michelle, he left.


	5. Chapter 5

_Unlikely Connections_  
><em>TonyMichelle_  
><em>PG - NC-17<em>  
><em>Summary: What if Michelle was never involved with CTU? What if she had a completely different life and then along comes an agent who turns her life upside down?<em>

* * *

><p>"Scarecrow, can you hear me?"<p>

Michelle kept typing away at her terminal but listened to what was going on around her. They were in a van outside of AVG Pharmaceuticals. She wasn't running point, but just like what Mason had told her she was the lead tech on this mission.

Nervous didn't come close to what she was feeling.

She heard a deep scratchy voice in her ear. "Roger. You guys see us?" When Michelle didn't respond immediately, Nina tapped her on the shoulder. "Oh yes, yes. We have both locators online." She turned to give Nina an apologetic glance but the other woman just smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

"Ok guys, we all know this is a tough one. So let's get in, get what we need and get the hell out."

Michelle heard Sheppard respond first, followed by Almeida.

"Copy."

"Roger that."

She watched her screen carefully. The two figures moved swiftly toward the back of the compound. If it wasn't for their heat signatures she wouldn't have seen them at all on the video. Nina had explained to her that Jinx and Scarecrow were the best "ghosts" they had. Still, Michelle had butterflies in her stomach and it wasn't completely because this was her first time out.

Tony reached the edge of the perimeter and knelt down by the edge of the fence. "Ready Dessler."

Michelle tapped furiously on her keyboard before speaking into her headset. "Cutting power in one, two, three."

Right on time, the compound went dark and Sheppard snapped through the fence and pushed Almeida through first, covering their rear as they headed for building 4357. Michelle watched them move together smoothly. Just as they'd predicted, three more heat signatures showed up from the front of the compound.

Nina watched over Michelle's shoulder as the tech brought up another screen focusing in on the guards. "Three to the front. Scarecrow, one to your four and six. Jinx, to your nine."

She was still getting used to all the terminology but she knew that the numbers told the agents exactly where they'd find their company.

Both agents spoke. "Copy that." Michelle watched them suddenly split and head directly toward the guards. In less time than it took Nina to relay their positions, she watched the two guards near Tony fall to the ground right before the one near Sheppard. Swiftly, they made their way back to each other and stopped at the door to the building they were looking for.

"Dessler." Michelle sighed at his tone and curtly said "It's open."

Tony glanced over at John and he wanted to smack the smirk off his face. He dropped back into the job at hand and pushed through the door, gun first. The tranq gun was lighter and took a bit to get used to but the two guards outside were good practice. The barrel of Tony's gun was the first thing to enter the room, swinging around the edge of the door before he risked a peek. He turned to John and nodded it was clear. They both immediately holstered the guns and went straight to a large safe inlaid into the wall on the left.

Nina muted her mic and spoke to Michelle as she leaned against the side of the van. "Now we just wait. Sheppard can break into anything so this shouldn't take long."

Michelle just nodded, not feeling as relaxed as her boss. Nina could tell she was nervous. "You've done great, Michelle. Relax. We'll be out of here before you know it."

Michelle took a deep breath and smiled back at her. She turned back to her monitor watching the two men work. She just couldn't shake this feeling she had. For something so important they'd planned for months, this was too easy. It wasn't her place and she knew she always seemed to let her mouth get her into trouble but she couldn't help but say something.

"Nina...doesn't this feel odd to you?"

"How do you mean?" Nina looked confused and glanced at the screen. "They seem to be moving at a good pace."

"It's not them. It's just, this whole thing was so top priority. We went over everything for months and now it's taken them less than ten minutes to get to the safe. Only three guards? That doesn't seem strange to you?"

Michelle hadn't muted her mic so Sheppard and Almeida were listening to the women. John was the first one to say something. "You know, she's got a point. This wasn't anything like we expected." The women couldn't hear them. They'd muted their mics as soon as they'd started work on the safe.

Tony spoke as John tilted the cracker slightly, the laser beam passing over the locks and giving him a number on the LCD screen. "You're complain'n that it's actually easy for once?"

"No, I'm just saying that if what we're pulling out of here is what we think it is, then only having three security guards on duty makes no sense."

Tony just smirked and kept an eye on their surroundings. "Our reputations precede us." He glanced over and saw the worried look on his partner's face. "It's fine, man. You're almost done."

* * *

><p>In the van, Michelle had turned to face Nina as she'd tried to explain what was making her so jittery. In the middle of another attempt to make her boss understand, her terminal beeped. She swung back around quickly and started typing.<p>

Nina leaned over her. "What's going on? What was that?"

"Someone's blocking our signal."

Nina's eyes grew wide and she switched her mic back on. "Jinx? Scarecrow? Come in?"

"Both signals are down, send and receive."

"Shit! Can you get them back online? They're blind out there. It might be nothing but we can't-"

She hadn't even finished her warning before two heat signatures appeared on Michelles monitor, one from each side of the building that housed Tony and John. "Oh my God. Shit shit shit! Michelle, get them back NOW!"

Michelle tried everything she could think of but this wasn't just a block. They knew they were coming. "There's nothing I can do. They knew. They had to have known what we were planning on doing." Both women stared at the monitor for a few seconds, watching the two outside signatures move their way into the building toward the two unmoving signatures they knew were Tony and John.

Nina didn't have time to think, she just reacted. "Michelle, grab a gun." She pointed to a line of cases under one of the terminal desks. "We've gotta go help them."

"What?! But I haven't even-"

"Michelle! They're gonna kill them if we don't go now!" That seemed to get through to the housewife. She pulled the gun up and Nina couldn't help but notice her hand shaking. She kept it to herself as she tried to soothe her. "Just follow my lead, ok? I won't let anything happen to you. We just need to even the odds a bit." Nina gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile and pulled the hammer back on her gun. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>"So, she's cute and smart. Obviously she's too good for you." John didn't look up from the safe but he didn't have too. He could feel the death glare his partner was sending him. He just smirked as he worked.<p>

" ." Before Tony could say more, a soft click sounded and they smiled at each other. John turned the handle and slowly opened the door. "Like taking candy from a baby."

"Yeah, a nuclear armed baby." When Tony didn't get a response to his joke he turned to his partner. Sheppard wasn't moving. He just kept staring inside the safe. "What? What's wrong?"

"It's empty."

"WHAT?!" Tony pushed him out of the way and looked inside the safe. He reached in and ran his hand around the cold metal walls but there was nothing there. "What the hell is going on?"

A shot barely missed John's shoulder. They both fell to the ground and took cover behind a stack of crates. Tony unmuted his mic and spoke harshly into it. "Dessler? Dessler?! Nina?!"

John shook his head indicating he was getting nothing but static also. "Fuck! This was a trap."

"And we fell for it." Sheppard moved around to the other side of the crate and fired at the shadow he could make out on the far side of the warehouse wall. "You don't think...I mean, why can't we reach Dessler and Myers?"

Tony just squeezed his eyes shut hard, not letting that thought take up residence in his head. "We focus on getting out of here. Nothing else."

Sheppard took a deep breath and nodded. He pulled the 9mm from his side and cocked it. "I know I saw one coming from my side. You see anything?"

Tony squinted around the crate. "I think so. Movement to the-" Before he could finish John pushed him forward and down to the ground. "Duck!"

One of the men had made his way behind them and nearly took Tony's head off. Sheppard moaned but swung around and put a bullet right between the guy's eyes.

Tony grabbed him and moved them both behind another crate further in the back. He was practically dragging John. Something was wrong. "Sheppard? Sheppard you ok?"

"My leg." He groaned again. "I took one to the leg." Tony holstered his gun and moved down to his partner's leg. It was dark in the warehouse but the small amount of light that was present made a section of Sheppard's pants look shiny and slick. "Shit." Tony reached out and pushed on the wound and John bit his lip to keep from making any noise from the pain.

Too busy with trying to keep Sheppard from bleeding out, Tony didn't notice the guy come up behind him till he heard the click of the cocking gun. He froze and glanced at John. The other agent barely nodded but it was enough to let Tony know they'd been caught for sure. Frantically trying to think of something, he jumped when he heard a shot and the guy behind him go down with a surprised yell. Tony swung around and pinned the guy to the floor, knocking his gun out of reach. He zip tied the guy then turned when he heard more movement behind them.

"Tony? John? You guys ok?" Nina came out of the dark and Tony let out the breath he didn't know he'd held.

"Yeah. Nothing serious but Sheppard took one to the leg. We need to move quick and get the fuck outta here." The two agents pulled Sheppard up to his feet and draped his arms over their shoulders. John winced and they started to limp along toward the back of the warehouse and to the opening in the fence.

Finally it dawned on Tony that he'd not seen Michelle. He was about to ask Nina when he saw her, gun at her side, coming around the corner. "It's clear. If we go now we should be able to get to the van before the others come."

Nina was panting from helping to carry the much larger man. "Others?"

Michelle pulled a small LCD screen from her belt and held it up for her. Multiple orange and red blobs were moving around to their left but making their way towards them. She nodded towards the guy they'd left. "What did you plan on doing with him?"

"Shit. I completely forgot about him." Tony took in a few deep breaths, glancing between the exit and the guy. Finally he looked up at Michelle. "You think you can help Nina? I'd like to take him with us. Figure out what the hell is going on."

Michelle's eyes widened but she just nodded and took over John's left side. They continued to shuffle out and eventually got Sheppard set up in the van, lifting his leg and injecting him with a field pain killer. Nina smiled at the look of concern on Michelle's face. "Don't worry, it's a clean shot. He'll be fine."

"Yeah it just hurts like a mother fucker." John squeezed his eyes shut tight.

"You're such a baby." Tony shoved their hostage into the very back of the van. "Now you sit like a good boy or I'll color the walls with your face." He turned and noticed Michelle wouldn't look at him. She just kept typing away at her computer. "Let's get going, Nina."

She nodded and moved to the driver's seat. Tony grabbed the bar above his head as they started moving out. "That was a damn good shot, Nina. Caught him right in the shoulder." The hostage groaned out something in another language.

"I didn't make it."

"What?"

"I said, I didn't make the shot." She looked up into the rearview mirror at him. "Michelle did."

Tony just blinked back at her and then looked down at Michelle.

She still wouldn't look at him.


End file.
